Slipknot’s new album We Are Not Your Kind is to be let loose just as the band celebrate 20 years since their self-titled debut was released and five since .5: The Gray Chapter. Any idea that the misanthropic US shock-rockers might have turned down their shtick with time are far wide of the mark. Relentless tsunamis of guitar riffage and pounding drums with roaring vocals power such nihilistic monsters as “Nero Forte” and “Orphan”, as might be expected. However, there are also plenty of darkly psychedelic moments, like the quietly eerie “My Pain” and the whoozy jazz of “What’s Next” to provide a change of pace, if not menace.
Clearly not afraid to play with public expectations, Slipknot even shake things up with the almost post-punk “Spiders” and the tempo-jumping prog metal of “Liar’s Funeral”. As with their previous albums though, the best tunes are those which hit you like a force of nature and don’t stop until the final notes. Recent single “Unsainted” is an extreme and wild noise that is fierce moshpit candy. “Birth of the Cruel” is Ministry-heavy with Corey Taylor howling “I’m all fucked up and I might get locked up” in an unhinged manner that doesn’t suggest any doubt. While “Red Flag” is a lively aural assault that turns up the sonic ultraviolence to a ferocity that could reawaken the disaffected, youthful metalhead in almost anyone.
We Are Not Your Kind marks a fine return to the fray from the ever-angry Iowa droogs. With “Unsainted”, “Birth of the Cruel” and “Red Flag”, they have knocked out tunes that are among Slipknot’s best. Nevertheless, the album does feel a bit over-long and occasionally wanders slightly too close to teenage tantrum territory. However, it hits the mark more often than not and, at its best, We are Not Your Kind is anti-social, loud and aggressive, which is just as the best rock’n’roll should be.
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